“We started to work on ‘Game of Thrones’ for season two, taking the job
of creating all the visual effects for that series,” said Sven Martin,
visual effects supervisor, Pixomondo. “This was an enormous undertaking
on a TV series with a tight schedule, and thanks to the speed and
reliability we get from our Dell workstations, monitors, servers and
storage, and the tremendous support we get from Dell’s IT support, we
were not only able to meet the tough expectations, we were also brought
on for season three.”

“It was exceptionally rewarding and very challenging to work on the Star
Trek franchise and create something new that would still pay homage to
the original,” said Ben Grossmann, visual effects supervisor, Pixomondo.
“The Dell workstations and servers gave us tremendous computational
firepower to render the massive 3D images around the clock.”

To create mystical castles worthy of “Games of Thrones,” giant ship
explosions and lifelike fire-breathing dragons that integrate seamlessly
into scenes with real-life characters, it takes robust computing power,
quick render times and reliable technology. To tackle these demands,
Pixomondo used Dell Precision T5500 and T5600 tower workstations to
create complex content quickly and Dell UltraSharp U2410, U2711 and
U2312HM monitors for clear and detailed display. The studio also used
Dell PowerVault MD3220 and MD1220 storage and Dell PowerEdge R410, R620
and R720 servers in its render farm for quick segment turnaround,
allowing for more rounds of tweaking, and ultimately a better final
product before deadline.

For “Star Trek Into Darkness,” Pixomondo was challenged with creating
380 pivotal shots that would satisfy the unique expectation of a fanbase
spanning 50 years. To do this, Pixomondo utilized Dell Precision T7600
and T5500 workstations with NVIDIA Quadro K4000 graphics cards, Dell
UltraSharp U2410 monitors and Dell PowerEdge R510, R410 and R310
servers. The Dell hardware enabled Pixomondo to explore new areas inside
the iconic USS Enterprise Ship such as the engine room, the lethally
radioactive warp core and the labyrinth of corridors throughout the
ship. It also let Pixomondo push the limits on action-packed sequences
of the film such as the attack on Starfleet Headquarters, a high-speed
pursuit above the Klingon home world of Kronos followed by an intense
battle on the surface of the entirely computer graphics (CG) generated
world.

Pixomondo also relied on Dell solutions to help the “Game of Thrones”
and “Star Trek Into Darkness” teams work on projects 24/7 from offices
around the world and from within many different departments. The
studio’s Dell infrastructure helps teams in London, Stuttgart, Los
Angeles, Frankfurt, Beijing and Burbank collaborate on projects without
missing a beat, and Dell’s global media solution allows Pixomondo to
sync large amounts of data across these global teams while greatly
reducing storage costs.

“Our Dell infrastructure allows us to distribute the work over multiple
departments, having specialized artists on each task,” said Martin.
“This and the speed of the Dell technology allow us to fulfill very
complex tasks and handle high amounts of shots in short production
times.”

“We are constantly striving to provide our customers with high
performing and reliable solutions for their specific needs,” said Neil
Hand, vice president, tablet and performance PCs at Dell. “We are always
amazed by the visual effects work Pixomondo develops, which are among
the best in the industry, on our technology; it represents the epitome
of our ‘Power to Do More’ philosophy.”

Pixomondo was responsible for one-third of the visual effects in “Star
Trek Into Darkness," all visual effects in “Game of Thrones”
season two, the digital creatures and hero environments in season three
and the entirety of Time Warner’s “Game of Thrones” commercial, in close
partnership with the series’ production team.